Pomegranate Pear Salad

I'm a disaster in the kitchen.

Ask my mom.

She used to come home from work and apparently (so she says) there'd be things like honey on the door knobs, unidentified ooze dripping from the cupboards or a flour-covered winter wonderland.

I thought she was exaggerating, but now my own kids, my own flesh and blood who I birthed through my loins are saying the same thing.

They should have been here to see the pomegranate meteor shower.

I finally found a successful seed extraction method, which involved 'tapping'  (not striking apparently) the pom with a wooden spoon, over a bowl.  Stand back and watch.

For right-brained people like me, creative messes are daily occurances. But hey, I clean them up like an OCD germaphobe so itr all balances out.

This household's been making this amazing salad for many moons. 

Years, in fact...  And although the salad ingredients are subbed out on a regular basis, it's really all about that dressing.  That, that perfect dressing - I never sub (except maybe just a little just because I'm not the best conformist).

  

When you can find them, pomegranate arils make the most lovely addition.  

The red glistening jewels add such a nice tart crunch, 

plus they're a potent form of antioxidants. 

How do you know if a pomegranate is ripe?  

Well, they pick them ripe and ready, unlike other fruits (so I guess only the pom pickers get to know when they are truly ripe).  Just look for one that's heavy and smooth, and firm.  And if you really don't want to deal with it, use Craisins - you can't go wrong.

 So, enjoy this lovely combination of sweet, tart, crisp and crunchy.  It will bring an enlivening freshness to your fall menu.

Pomegranate Pear Salad
1 large head Romaine (or about 1/2 lb. any kind of greens)
1 cup Swiss Cheese - julienne strips
Arils from one pomegranate OR 1 cups Craisins (you're going for tart, small, and red here)
1 pear, diced (peeling optional)
1 red apple, diced (leave peel on)
1 cups cashews

DRESSING
1/2 cup sugar
2 t. finely grated purple onion (I sub out 1/2 t. onion powder all the time)
1/2 t. salt
2/3 cup canola or olice oil
1/3 cup lemon juice, fresh
1 t. Dijon mustard
1 T. poppy seeds

Combine sugar, onion, salt, lemon juice and mustard in a bowl or blender.  Whisk until smooth, slowly adding the oil. When blended, add the poppy seeds.

NOTE:  This makes a LOT of dressing, sometimes I only make 1/2 that amount and it's still great.

What I do:  Make this is a quart sized mason jar, then add the diced pear and apple to the jar and shake up lightly to coat to prevent them from browning.  That way, I can make this a little bit ahead of time, which is always important in my book.

Combine salad ingredients and toss with dressing just before serving. As soon as you add the dressing, the fresh clock starts ticking.  

I subbed the cashews for some pecans that I toasted up in a little saute pan for about 5 minutes and used some Irish white cheddar instead of the Swiss, used spring greens instead of Romaine.

POM - it's what's for dinner.

Posted by Rona